Speakers and Moderators for the first day of the PMFG 2023 Conference.
Doha, Qatar: Sidra Medicine (a QF entity) welcomed over 650 attendees, partners and exhibitors and 50 local and international speakers, to the first day of its annual Precision Medicine and Functional Genomics (PMFG 2023) Conference.
Sessions on Day 1 of PMFG 2023 focused on large scale population genomic programs from Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. Session keynote speaker, Sir Mark Caufield, Professor of Clinical Pharmacology from Queen Mary University of London, was introduced by the British Ambassador to Qatar, H.E Jonathan Wilks CMG.
Sir Caulfield presented the lessons learned from the 100,000 genomes project while Director of the Qatar Genome Program Dr. Said Ismail discussed Qatar Genome becoming a national enabler of precision medicine. PMFG 2023 also featured an address by Dr. Salih Ali Al Marri, the Assistant Minister of Health Affairs from Qatar’s Ministry of Public Health.
In his remarks, Dr. Al Marri noted: “The path to precision medicine and the programs and knowledge-sharing that will be taking place in conferences like this, is evidence to the efforts being made to not only improve healthcare but to personalize it for the benefit of all. I am proud of the roles that Qatar-led and Qatar-based health, educational and research organizations are doing in their respective fields – to support the country’s health strategy.”
The second session on Day 1 focused on the clinical research programs at Sidra Medicine highlighting the achievements and real-world impact of clinical research on genetic and metabolic disorders, cancer, fertility complications, immune dysregulation and neurological disorders.
PMFG 2023 Conference Chairs, Dr. Bernice Lo and Dr. Matteo Avella said: “We are thrilled that to date, our hospital has enrolled nearly 10,000 families in several of our clinical and genetic research programs. They have become integral partners in helping us understand rare diseases but also to find better treatment protocols and cures for diseases and health challenges ranging from diabetes, autism, cancer, infertility and more.”
Dr. Khalid Fakhro, Chief Research Officer at Sidra Medicine said: “It gives me great pride to see how far Sidra Medicine’s precision medicine journey has come. Thanks to our key partners from the health, education and research sector and most importantly our patients and their families – we have made a significant contribution to the genomic research landscape in the Arab world through several ground-breaking programs and publications of hundreds of studies in high-impact journals.
The second day of PMFG 2023 on today will feature: Morning Session: The Power of Precision Medicine and Genomics in Pediatric Healthcare. Keynote speaker, Dr. Ed Liu, Jackson Labs, Professor, President Emeritus and Honorary Fellow - will be discussing Path to Precision Medicine: Advancing Human Health and Economic Impact at a National Scale.
Keynote speaker, Dr. Stephen Kingsmore, President/CEO of Rady Children’s Institute for Genomic Medicine will be discussing Rapid genome sequencing for newborn screening and inpatient diagnosis of genetic diseases.
A panel session on “Precision medicine and functional genomics revolutionize pediatric healthcare”. Afternoon Session: Genomic Insights and Innovations, From Single-Cell Sequencing to Public Health Applications.
